Donald Trump condemned by pastor during sermon while Mike Pence 'sits in pews red-faced'

Maurice Watson brands US President's alleged 's***hole countries' remark 'dehumanising' and 'ugly'

A pastor has condemned Donald Trump during a sermon while Mike Pence reportedly sat in the church red-faced.

Maurice Watson, of the Metropolitan Baptist church in Largo, Maryland, branded Mr Trump’s alleged “s***hole” remark to describe unspecified African nations as “dehumanising” and “ugly”.

Mr Trump has denied using the word during a meeting on immigration reform, despite a politician in the room publicly accusing the President of using the slur “repeatedly”.

On Sunday the billionaire described himself to journalists as the “least racist person you’ve ever interviewed”.

Dr Watson nonetheless launched into a scathing attack on the President, describing the remark as a “hurtful, dehumanising, visceral, guttural, ugly" adjective he could not use in church.

“I stand today as your pastor to vehemently denounce and reject such characterisations,” he said.

Noting there were Africans and Haitians in the congregation, the pastor said they were “owed an apology”, but “probably won’t get one”.

“There was nothing that was loving in that adjective, nothing loving in that statement about Haiti,” he said. “Nothing loving. We can do better than this, we can do better than this as a nation.”

The speech was met with repeated standing applause from the audience. Local television channel WUSA TV reported that Mr Pence became visibly red-faced while sat next to his wife in the audience.

Mr Pence’s office denied he became embarrassed in an email to news agency The Associated Press.

The President’s alleged comments last week triggered international condemnation, including by the UN, who branded them “shameful” and “racist”.

After being presented with a proposal to restore protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and unspecified African countries, Mr Trump reportedly said: “Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?”

He asked to know why the US could not instead accept people from places like Norway, whose prime minister he had met the day before.

Mr Trump eventually issued a denial on Twitter, saying the language he used was "tough" but different to what was claimed.

But Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who was in the meeting, contradicted the President.

“In the course of his comments he said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist... I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday,” Mr Durbin said.

The White House has been contacted for comment.

Maurice Watson's comments on Donald Trump in full

It is alleged that a hurtful, dehumanising, visceral, guttural, ugly, adjective that I cannot repeat in church was used to characterise some of the nations of Africa, and a statement was made that we ought to welcome people from Norway, more than we welcome people from Haiti.

I stand today as your pastor to vehemently denounce and reject such characterisations of the nations [inaudible], and of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. And I further say, whoever made such a statement, and whoever used such a visceral, disrespectful, dehumanising adjective to characterise the nations of Africa… whoever said it is wrong, and they ought to be held accountable.

My friends, my members from Haiti, from Africa, you are owed an apology but you probably won’t get one. But even if you don’t get one, as your pastor, and your Metropolitan family will stand shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart and breast to breast with you, as we acknowledge your worth, your dignity, your humanness.

We’re getting ready to celebrate Dr (Martin Luther) King’s birthday… I think the best way to honour Dr King’s legacy is to speak up for and stand up for the values for which he spoke and stood. And the main value which Dr King stood for is the value of love. He said ‘I decided to go with love because hate is too great a burden for any man to carry’.

There was nothing that was loving in that adjective, nothing loving in that statement about Haiti. Nothing loving. We can do better than this, we can do better than this as a nation.